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Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 145, 15 December 1866, Page 2

We are happy to be able to state that the repairs to the Dispath are almost completed. The contractor is expected to finish his work to-day, and the steamer's arrival in the Grey may be looked for on Monday or Tuesday. TheP.N.Z. & A.TJ.M. Co! 's s.s. Egmont, Captain Hall, left Wellington at!). 40 a.m. on" the 10th, and arrived off the Boulder Bank the same evening,' but too late for title. Next morning she ran alongside the hulk and coaled, and then steamed up to the wharf and discharged fifteen tons of cargo, and sailed for Hokitika at noon the same day, arriving in the roadstend at au early hour on Thursday morning. She experienced most lovely weather on the passage, and hove to off the Buller River, and sent a boat in shore to -take soundings, She reports that the Rakaia sailed for Panama at 7. 30 p. m. on the Bth inst., with 20 passengers, and that the B.s. Tararua arrived in Wellington harbor at 5 p.m, the same evening from Sydney, which port she left on the 2nd inst. The passage across proved most stormy, as she was hove to for 30 hours in a heavy N.E. gale. Sighted a full-rigged ship in Cook's Straits, supposed to be the Countess of Kintore, from Ne'son to Port Underwood. The entrance to the Hokitika river is undergoing considerable change, as during the past few days the southern channel has . gradually contracted, and is now but little more than a mere gutway. This has diverted the bulk of the outflow through the north ohannel, thereby materially improving it, by adding force to the stream, which is thus enabled to overcome the surf, and take a straight, course through the bar. The break in the North Spit, separating the bank upon "which the remains of the old Bnllarat are lying from the main beach, in fast closing up, so that it seems almost a certainty that ere long the entire body of the river water will be confined to the one outlet.- W. O. Time*. We learn from the W. V. Time* that an enquiry into the circumstances of the wreck of the* Ballarat was to be held by the Collector of Customs at Hokitika yesterday. The arrival of the p.s. Lioness may be expected on Saturday or Sunday next, as we are informed by her agents, Messrs Carey and Gillies, that a telegram received yester- -■-'" day stated she was to leave Dunedin to-day. Her repairs Avere oompleted some days ago, but owing to unusually low tides, she was riot able to leave the slip until Tuesday last. ■■--'HI C Time** Thursday. & New- Zealand Gazette, of date 2/th ult, states that gratuities will be paid to masters of niisubsidised vessels on mails despatched to any place put of the colony at the rate of one penny per letter, or packet, not inchiding newspapers; a. gratuity of a halfpenny^; all lettoW despatched from one ■ province:to ; another within the colony, and a farthing letter on aUconveyert: from any post^othce. %.. within anj;: province to >ny other post ofiice tbe;;;auie provide, „:

•A considerable crowd assembled about the old Montezuma yesterday afternoon, to watch a whalcboat Which was observed •mtuiceuvering outside the line of siirf. Presently the little craft made a dash for the shore, and the sea fortunately being remarkably amooth, a landing was safely effected. Tlie boat contained four men, named respectively William Griffiths, John Grieve, John Smith, John Clause, who, in reply to the eager questioning of those assembled. stated that they had been prospecting in the vicinity of Barn Bay during the last nine months, with such indifferent success that, heaving of "good rushes" further north, they determined to leave, and accordingly manned their whaleboat last Monday, and proceeded along the coast. Favored by fine weather and fair winds, the voyage proved tolerably pleasant. Wishing to ascertain what was doing on shore, as well as to renew their stock of provisions, they landed three times on their way up, calling at Jackson and Bruce Bays and at Gillespie's Beach, and finally beached their boat, as above stated, abreast the Montezuma. The little vessel in which they performed this most hazardous journey is an ordinary whalcboat, about 25ft. long. — Ibid, llth inst. WISECK OF THE SCHOONER EOI-ir.SK AT THE Bulleb.— On Friday morning tho schooner Eclipse left her moorings with a line breeze and when she approached the bar the wind suddenly died away. Her anchors were let go but they wonld'not hold, an. l she dragged into the surf on the inside of the North Spit. A kedge was immediately carried out but dragged home. At low water a warp was taken across the river, and she was inovecUn the next two tides a quarter of a mile. The p.s. Bruce came in and Captain Kerley kindly offered to tow her off. He got up steam and came alongside, and while the tow line was being passed in, within five minutes time she burst her top sides and tille<\ She is uninsured, and belonged entirely to Captain Levy. The cargo, consisting of old copper and other things was all washed out of her, belonged to Captain Levy. Her hull and spars fetched LlO l()s by auction. This is an unfortunate end of the Eclipse, which did good service at Opotiki when the fanatic Maoris killed Sir Volkner. Since then she ran ashore on the Boulder Bank at Nelson, and received damage that cos*"- a large sum to repair ; and now by her total loss at the Buller we believe Captain Levy h:is lost all he possessed. Shtpwiieck and loss of One Hundked and Foktv-fouji Lives— San Francisco, August 2(i— The British ship Fairlijiht, Captain Bush, from Hong Kong, bound for San Francisco, was wricked near Island Po Chung Hian, on June 12th. One hundred and forty-three Chinese passengers and one European were drowned. The ship broke up six hours after striking, and nothing was saved. The Government had chartered a steamer to send after the shipwrecked crew. — Qlactywc Weekly Mall, September l.>.